Hugh Jackman: 'I auditioned hard for Les Miserables'

Hugh Jackman has revealed that he tried hard for the film adaptation of Les Miserables.

Set in 1832 during the Paris Uprising, Jackman will play the lead role of Jean Valjean, a Frenchman who was locked up for stealing bread but now must run away from Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). Les Miserables is based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel.

When Jackman was asked by New York Magazine if he felt more pressure or motivation working on such a beloved show, the Real Steel actor said: "More motivated. I auditioned. I went hard for the part. I wasn't sitting back waiting for this one. This is one I really wanted.

"I feel, weirdly, that all the things in my life - particularly my professional life, which has been close to 20 years - have been converging to this point. I feel very lucky and blessed to have been in movies, and I feel lucky and blessed to have been in musicals.

"I've been waiting a long time to combine the two, and to be able to do it with something like Les Miserables, it just feels like a pinnacle.

Jackson also revealed that songs from Les Miserables will be sung live on set.

"You don't want it to feel like it's all done in a recording studio, nor do you want it to look like the actors are miming the whole thing," he said. "I wouldn't know how to do that. I think it would take more work to mime it than to sing it."